


Brother Among Them

by Ealasaid



Series: A Human Condition [1]
Category: 1917 (Movie 2019), Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Alien Character(s), Alien Perspective, Alternate Universe - Among Us (Video Game) Setting, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Anxiety Attacks, Canon-Typical Violence, Comfort, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dehumanization, Developing Relationships, Gen, Impostors are shapeshifters, Male Friendship, Mild Blood, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Shapeshifting, Social Experiments, The Skeld (Among Us), Vomiting, Worldbuilding, honestly a lot more worldbuilding than expected, implied indoctrination, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:13:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27985167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ealasaid/pseuds/Ealasaid
Summary: Schofield is an Impostor, an Elite race of Shapshifting Saboteurs, who is tasked with Observing Human Nature and Gathering Intelligence. As it turns out, The Host has good reason to be Concerned: Taking the Human Shape has Unexpected Consequences.
Relationships: Crewmate & Crewmate (Among Us), Crewmate & Impostor, Joseph Blake & Lieutenant Richards, Joseph Blake & Tom Blake, Joseph Blake & William Schofield, Lieutenant Richards & William Schofield, Tom Blake & Lieutenant Richards, Tom Blake & William Schofield
Series: A Human Condition [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088822
Comments: 114
Kudos: 34





	1. One Impostor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writeyourownstory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeyourownstory/gifts), [MagicalTear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicalTear/gifts), [The_Beeses_Kneeses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Beeses_Kneeses/gifts).
  * Inspired by [impostor syndrome](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26671084) by [arahir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arahir/pseuds/arahir). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Title taken from Erinmore's "1600 men, your brother among them" line]

_Schofield,_ the Identification Card on his Blue Suit reads. _William Schofield._

Schofield presses that into the Uppermost part of his Memory. He is Schofield now, Schofield in the Blue Suit. His Partner for this assignment is Lime. 

(He does not know what Lime's Identification Card says.)

This Assignment is supposed to be for A Month and is primarily Intelligence-gathering. The Host wants to know more about Human cultural norms and psychology for Future Conquest, beyond what Humans Feel Like when Impostors wear their shapes. That means this mission is not supposed to be immediate extermination -- that is good. Schofield likes it better when they are balancing sabotage and simply actively hindering as much as possible; it is very boring when they are just supposed to Eliminate Everything.

"Say, Blue, have we worked with you before?" the Human in the White Suit asks him. He (Schofield can pick up that White is male-analogue) feels like . . . curiosity.

"I don't think so," Schofield replies. He makes an internal note that Humans seem to be Slightly Psychic, given how Schofield easily can sense White's emotions, and tries not to be amused. _Curiosity killed the Qottaht,_ he thinks, vaguely recalling The Host's instructions on who is both easiest to trap and trickiest to fool. 

\--Time enough for that later. Something about White is approachable; he decides to take a risk. "My name is Schofield."

White brightens, sparking warmth all through Schofield. He looks Up at Schofield's helmet and Schofield can feel the smile even if he can't see it as White says, "Nice to meet you, Schofield! I'm Tom." White pushes Red with his arm. "This is my brother, Joe."

"Nice to meet you, Tom and Joe," Schofield echoes back. Smile, he thinks, and like magic, he feels it curling across his face. Then he remembers they can't see it, but that doesn't seem to matter, either; it is like the act of smiling itself makes him feel more comfortable with them.

"Is it your first time?" Joe asks. He feels like politeness and mild interest.

"Doing this sort of job, no," Schofield replies, carefully not thinking of how many times he has taken on other forms and infiltrated other groups of alien species for the Advancement of The Host. He has not had any previous assignments to infiltrate Humans, though. "But it is my first time in this part of space. Some of the technology here is strange."

Tom puts his hand on Schofield's shoulder. "Stick with us, then," he says, eager. "Joe and me can show you around, no problem."

Joe projects a peculiar set of emotions. He feels tired, like this is inevitable, but he is amused anyway. "We've been sent to this ship before," he tells Schofield, now flavoring everything with reassurance and surety. "We can show you the ropes, sure."

"All right," Schofield says. He likes this warm sensation in his chest cavity that these two are making him feel; and besides, maybe he will learn the how and why of "brothers." It is not something the Host knows yet, he does not think, and the closeness between the two of them signifies Importance.

Tom and Joe are happy to take him along with everything. First, they take him to the Bunks, where everyone will Sleep when they are not on Shift. Tom insists that Schofield take a bunk next to Tom and Joe, who choose bunks that Stack above each other. Schofield picks the Bottom one in the Corner to the right of Their Stack.

Then everyone meets back in the cafeteria so that they can Determine Shifts. There are Three Shifts and there is a large debate over How To Assign Them. No one wants to be on Third Shift, Orange wants to make all the decisions without Any Input despite the fact he is Not In Charge, and Joe and Tom refuse to be Separated. 

It takes twenty minutes before a Schedule is worked out to Almost No One's Satisfaction. Joe, Tom, and Black (who introduces himself as Ben) are on Schofield's Shift, and are the happiest out of everyone present, despite the fact that they are now behind schedule and have a Shift's worth of work to complete in half the time. Lime is with Orange, Cyan, and Pink for the Second Shift, all of whom are . . . not _dis_ pleased. Purple, Green, and Yellow make up the Third Shift, the one that takes the Middle of the Night; Purple and Green are satisfied by this, even if Yellow is not. (Schofield finds it odd that Humans don't seem to care that in Space, it is Always Night, and still insist on arbitrarily dividing time into Night and Day.) 

The Shifts will not Overlap, but Crewmates will likely be awake and wandering before and after their shifts -- Humans have 8-hour Sleep Cycles. That is fine; Schofield will learn More about Humans if he interacts with more of them before he and Lime Eliminate Them All and all the knowledge will Benefit The Host. 

Joe and Tom and Schofield and Ben are all on First Shift and get to work immediately. Ben and Joe know each other from another job, back when Tom was Too Little to Work, and they are happy to Be Together again. They talk, and joke, and Schofield finds that though Ben is not as effusively light as Tom and Joe, Ben's Humor about the questionable working conditions is wry and something that seems to pluck resonance within Schofield, as though this Human form is an Instrument. Schofield is amazed to discover Humans can be both provoked to laugh from amusement and drown in melancholy at the Same Time. _Fascinating!_

Schofield works with them as they perform Tasks. He has no idea what half of the things on his list mean, but Joe and Tom are eager to show him how to do it all. Schofield learns the most about Wires, because all of them Have It Assigned. Wires are an endless source of annoyance to everyone, and no wonder: the Amount of Wiring that needs to be fixed is Surprising. 

Through the half-shift, working at twice the speed they should normally, Schofield sees the toll Fixing Wires takes on his Human companions. It means that he feels bad about undoing their hard work. Still, he and Lime need to draw out this expedition. Schofield debates for a long while and compromises: he carefully strips some Wires of their rubberized coating and cuts only a few altogether. Too many of both would make First Shift look Lazy (to the rest of the Crew), or, more dangerously, make Schofield look Suspicious (as Joe and Tom and Ben all know each other from previous associations and have demonstrated great faith in each other already). Schofield does not want either.

He and Lime take a day to settle into this new routine before they Meet Discreetly. It is just as First Shift ends on the second day. When Schofield reports his activities to Lime and explains this dilemma, Lime makes a surprised sound. "You could turn them against each other," she suggests, Helping Him Troubleshoot like a Good Partner. "Black is not related to White and Red, right? That is where you could split them."

Schofield shrugs, unconvinced. "I think it's too suspicious. Everyone on the ship knows they are all close after that argument we had when we arranged shifts."

Lime thinks this over. "Very well," she says grudgingly. "Yes, you're right. For now, leave them alone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Ben = Lieutenant Richards, aka the bloke who talked to Schofield before the climactic running-across-the-battlefield scene. "Are you bloody insane?!")
> 
> Public Service Announcement:
> 
> 1\. If you haven't played Among Us, don't. It is very addicting. _~~JOIN USSSSS~~_  
>  2\. If you have/do, remember: ghost chat is where it's atttttttttttttttttttt~ Check in to your local ghost chat and meet new friends!
> 
>  ~~(as for the fic -- not sure how long this will be but guesstimating 3-4 chapters!)~~ (I may or may not have already written a thousand words of post-resolution snuggles) (#sorrynotsorry)


	2. Elimination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags updated to include: mild blood.

As it turns out, Lime's Shift Partners are all Unhappy and Mistrustful. They do Not like Lime. Schofield feels surprisingly sad when he realises She Is Not Enjoying Herself the way he is, but he supposes that if she had Tom and Joe and Ben as Shift Partners, she would Be Less Stressed. 

(--Truthfully, Schofield does not know how Lime actually feels. Perhaps he is Projecting. Impostors do not sense other Impostors' emotions, but Lime's tone is cool and increasingly clipped whenever Schofield asks about her Shift, and that makes him think she is Uncomfortable With The Subject.)

Anyway, they decide to eliminate one of the Crew by the end of the first week. Schofield and Lime are here to observe Human Behaviour, after all, and that means Subjecting the Crew to Stress.

Schofield has largely been enjoying his Human Shape so far. Humans feel Interesting Things; their Shapes are not Made for repelling the Cold of Space or withstanding the Eternal Vacuum. Instead, their forms are most useful for fine sensitivity: feeling the minute differences in the warmth and the textures of cloth, plastics, metals, foods, surfaces; distinguishing the degree to which a mouth twitching is a smile or a frown; picking up and reflecting the emotions of a group. Inwardly, Schofield is coming to Admire Them (treasonous as it is): the Crew are shockingly fragile but they have the Ambitions of The Host in how they fearlessly construct and maintain things like This Ship, The Skeld, to Enable them to Overcome These Natural Limitations Anyway.

This is how Schofield feels at the beginning of the sixth day on the ship. This changes by the end of it, largely due to the elimination of Cyan.

Cyan is an easy target. Cyan is snippy and says terrible things to everyone, so no one chooses to work with her more than they have to and she is Alone a Lot. (Schofield gets the sense that there is something awfully hollow inside of her, and that is what makes her unhappy, but such speculation is Not Conducive to Sparking Mistrust and Unease amongst the Crew.)

It is not hard to enter the Reactor unnoticed while Cyan is busy trying to Restart it. The rest of Second Shift are Squabbling over whether Pink was Actually Scanning in Medbay or if something happened to the Imaging Technology (that is Lime's work -- she is good with manipulating Alien Tech); Schofield left the rest of First Shift in the Shower Block. Third Shift is Sleeping in Preparation for the Night's Work. Moreover, something is Wrong with the Keypad, and Cyan is so preoccupied with tweaking the wiring that she Does Not Notice Schofield when he comes up behind her Quietly and Bisects Her with his Host-Issue Sword.

She doesn't even realise it at first. Schofield feels her mild surprise, escalating into alarm as she tries to catch herself as she falls and fails; and then she sees her Lower Half and the _shock/fear/pain/horror/sad_ that follows is not a physical blow but it knocks the air out of his oxygenating organs. Schofield finds that he can't move his feet, not at all through the agonizingly long period of time where these emotions fade only as fast as the blood draining out of her body.

Then she is dead. There is no more emotion that Schofield senses. He moves forward at last but, for a moment, the light seems to shift; Schofield is struck suddenly with the thought that it could be Tom in his White Suit on the floor, suit glowing cyan from the blue of the monitors. Human mouths are sometimes unpleasantly wet but right now Schofield's feels very, very dry, and his eyes itch with pressure. 

Schofield stuffs her body in the vent. It will not hide her for long and he does not bother masking the blood but he thinks anyone passing by the room in a hurry will pay less attention to a dark stain than to a body.

Schofield only needs a moment to clean himself off; the Suits are Marvelously liquid-repellent, and sluicing off the traces of blood is easy. He pats his Suit dry, wishes briefly that he had the time to strip entirely and feel the Hot Spray on his Skin, and finds Ben in the Bunks, busily packing something away.

Ben looks up briefly when Schofield and enters. Schofield has a moment of panic -- if Ben can pick up Schofield's emotions, he'll know something is wrong -- but no. Here in the Bunks, most Crewmembers do not wear their helmets and Ben's smile is accompanied by a brief uptick in mood that lights through him when he spots Schofield in the doorway. "You don't have to get dressed in those little shower stalls, you know," Ben tells him, mood unfaltering. Schofield feels his shoulders relax. "Besides, you've got to let it breathe every once in a while."

"You just want to see everyone naked," Schofield says, because Joe said it three days ago and Ben had laughed, then.

He laughs now. "Doesn't everybody?" he replies, teasingly. "But never mind that. Tom and Joe went ahead to the Cafeteria -- they promised they would get our meals started, too."

Tom and Joe are already in the Cafeteria and they have indeed gotten the Replicators to create meals for Ben and Schofield. Schofield slides into a seat next to Tom as Tom and Joe bicker over which one is better at programming in the subroutines that add slight flair to the otherwise-standard meals, bringing up examples from Past Jobs as evidence which neither Ben nor Schofield can corroborate. 

This leaves Schofield depressingly undistracted. It is very fortunate that Humans apparently are not aware of their own innate Psychic Abilities. It seems clear that Humans do not seem to Sense Imposter Emotions the way that He Senses Theirs. He Still Feels Sick over Cyan, which is Annoying in the Extreme -- how is he going to be able to Eliminate the Crew if he feels like this every time? -- and--

"Hey Schofield, are you all right?" Ben asks him quietly. 

Schofield blinks and looks up from his Meal. It tastes pleasant, but he does not feel hungry, and is having a hard time finding motivation to begin Processing it. Ben's expression is one of those frowns that is not meant to indicate Anger so much as Worry; his Concern is soft, but there. 

Schofield swallows. These emotions hurt to feel, like earlier, but in a Different way. "Yeah?" he ventures. When the lines on Ben's face deepen, Schofield repeats it with more surety. "Just wondering how much bloody wiring we're going to have to do tomorrow," he adds, and stuffs a utensil-load of mash into his mouth, hoping to mimic Enthusiasm. 

Tom groans. "Ugh, I know," he says. His tone is mournful, but he is not actually that upset. "I think I'll dream of red, yellow, blue, and purple for the rest of my life!"

"Dreaming of Schofield and Joe? Doesn't seem too bad to me," Ben says cheerfully, feeling anticipatory and amused. His glee when Tom snorts Dairy Product out his nose and sputters makes Schofield smile despite himself. 

Joe coughs, skin flushing. His feelings are a mix of something that is lightly, squirmingly uncomfortable and a gentle, shy warmth. He is very good at not showing either, though, saying instead, "Brought that on yourself, Tom."

Schofield feels his body relax a little more. It is incredible, how Humans Do This -- Easing each other Simply by Being Together. He starts to Process his Mash with more vigor and feels the ache in his Chest Cavity diminish considerably as the Humans continue to Tease each other.

Ben drapes one of the cloth-paper squares over the top of his head and Blinks Rapidly at Joe, which makes Tom wheeze and Joe flush again. Joe plays along, adopting a Stilted Tone that makes him sound very Silly, and the two "coo" at each other. Ben makes them all laugh with his subsequent Exaggerated Pantomime -- Tom and Joe in earnest, Schofield carried along by the Atmosphere of Levity the three are exuding. Schofield can't seem to control his body as it continues to heave, triggered by the waves of Euphoria the action itself produces -- a very unproductive Feedback Loop. He has to hold onto the Table to stay upright.

"No more," he hears himself say, when he has the breath. "No more!"

Joe starts to reply, grinning outright, and is interrupted by a loud klaxon. 

"All Crew report to the cafeteria," Orange's voice says over the internal sound system. "I repeat, all Crew report to the cafeteria!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Readers, you are fabulous! Each and every one of you make my day ❤️
> 
> Chapter count updated to 5 (I think?) (it's a work in progress) and will likely continue to be between 1-2k words each. Unless something drastic happens, which it shouldn't.
> 
> Also, this particular fic will remain Gen and Non-Shippy! (That's the sequel.)(The sequel is going to be _great.)_
> 
> Hoping to get the next chapter out tomorrow!


	3. EMERGENCY MEETING #1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags updated: Social Experiments (since that is apparently a tag -- probably should have been added for last chapter).

For the meeting about Cyan being found dead in the Reactor, Everyone Takes Off Their Helmets.

This is the First Time Schofield sees Lime's Shape's Features. Her Face is Unwrinkled -- Tom has a similar appearance, this is a Sign of Youth in Humans -- and she has a Great Deal of Long, Crinkly Hair that is dark in color. Her Eyes are Wide and she looks at Everyone Nervously.

Everyone else is looking at Everyone Nervously, too. Schofield copies this, trading uneasy glances with Ben and Tom and Joe. All the Humans exude fear: some show it openly, while others, like Ben and Joe, keep it Tightly Bound behind grim faces. The worst comes from Tom, who looks and feels Horrified.

Schofield does not like Feeling Tom's Horror. Impulsively, he wraps his arm around Tom's shoulders, the way Joe does when he is trying to be Comforting. Tom gives him a startled glance -- Schofield hopes the face he makes is reassuring. (He resolves to convince Lime they should Eliminate Tom Last. Schofield can Do That Much.)

Whatever it is Tom sees causes him to Square his Shoulders. He stands up Straighter and Looks At Everyone as Orange Speaks.

"There's an Impostor on the ship," Orange announces gravely. He is Older, with a Much-Lined face, and has a Mustache. 

"No shit, Geoff," Purple says, tone clearly indicating her irritation. She and Green and Yellow are all glowering, having been woken up midway through their sleep cycle for this. "It's not as though this ship comes booby-trapped with whirling death blades, just waiting for us to make a mistake!"

Schofield thinks privately to himself that, for all they know, the ship _is_ a booby-trap. From what he's heard from Ben and Joe, it only takes one mistake while trying to fix the wiring to electrocute oneself, or one moment of inattention to find one's hand sucked into the O2 filter and crushed, or having to manually unjam the garbage chute only to get shot out into space instead, or find out the Medbay scan software has gone buggy and the radiation limits are corrupted when your hair comes out in clumps in the shower . . . 

\--But Humans would not Actively Seek to Eliminate Their Own. This train of thought is Silly. Besides, Schofield knows Very Well how Cyan Died.

Orange is glowering at Purple. "Cyan was on my shift," he barks. "Pink and Lime were with me in the Medbay at the time of the murder, which means it is one of _you."_

His accusing stare sweeps through the members of First and Third Shift.

"Hang on a moment," Ben says, sounding angry. He gestures at the remains of their meal, still on the table. "First Shift is clear, too! We were all eating dinner right here!"

Orange starts to retort but Purple joins in, too. _"We_ were all _asleep,"_ Purple snaps, just as upset as Ben. She has subtly positioned herself slightly forward of Green and Yellow. "Don't start throwing blame around when your Shift is the only one on duty right now!"

It is intriguing how the Humans all seem to Gravitate Towards Those with whom they Work Most Closely when in a larger grouping. Schofield notes this carefully, along with the other things he has learned about Humans; this may be useful later. 

For now, though, Schofield clears his throat. "Was anyone in Security, watching the cameras?" he asks. He knows there wasn't anybody at the time of the elimination -- he checked -- but it seems prudent to appear helpful.

"Like Geoff said," Pink answers him calmly. "Lauri and I were with him in Medbay." She sighs, a sort of familiar frustration, and she addresses the group with: "The scanner is on the fritz again, by the way -- don't use it until we've found and fixed the logic corruption."

"Well, did anyone see _anything?"_ Yellow asks, sounding appalled. "I can vouch for First Shift -- Blue and Black woke me up earlier when they came in after showering."

"Tom and I were in the Cafeteria at that point," Joe affirms, nodding. "We were making dinner."

"So there _is_ no clear suspect," Green concludes. She yawns enormously and Schofield feels her struggling to stay awake -- he thinks he saw her wandering around the corridors well past the middle of First Shift where Yellow and Purple were in their bunks by noon. Ben and Tom stayed up similarly late the third day, going to bed only when Second Shift also turned in for the night. Green will have to Be Careful tonight.

\--What is he thinking? Schofield feels a chill settle in him and shivers. He is An Impostor, Precursor to The Host. He is Not Here to Worry about Humans; he is here to Gather Intelligence and Eliminate them.

He feels something squeeze around his middle. Surprised, he sees that Tom is looking at him with worry. He is giving Schofield a hug with one arm, the one under the arm Schofield has laid over his shoulders. "It'll be all right, Scho," Tom whispers to him.

Schofield nods sharply, wrestling his Facial Expression into something like Neutrality. Human Faces are So Malleable. When he looks up, Lime -- he supposes her Identification Card Names Her Lauri -- is watching him. She still has that projection of wide-eyed fear, but now she looks confused, too. Schofield sees how her eyes flick between himself and Tom and feels a different sort of chill. 

"What do you mean there is no clear suspect?" Orange is arguing. "There are several clear suspects! Everyone who was not in Medbay is a suspect!"

"I think you insisting on throwing accusations is suspect!" Purple argues back. "Yeah, you were all in Medbay at the time of the murder, but how do you even know when the murder took place??"

Orange already explained this when he announced Cyan's death, stating that none of the three of them had seen Cyan after the four of them had split up after completing several tasks in Electrical. Schofield blinks, wondering if he should remind Purple of this, but then Lauri speaks up.

"I didn't see Cyan before Pink and I went to Medbay," Lauri says quietly. Her Mask of Uncertain Fear is back, firmly in place. "Orange joined us after."

There is a brief silence. The other Humans seem to View This as An Important Detail. Orange looks and feels stunned.

"That isn't enough to accuse Orange either," Yellow interrupts firmly. Her objection seems to stymie the Growth of Discontent which Schofield senses. "I think Green is right -- we have no clear suspects. Casting blame around at this point is foolish."

"Then it looks like it's the standard response for us," Ben says into the group. His tone is no-nonsense and he is filled with Resolution. "We'd better buddy up."

The meeting breaks up after that. Orange and Pink and Lauri all hurry back to their tasks, though not before Lauri shoots Schofield one last glance before disappearing under her helmet and turning the corner out of sight, headed to Navigation.

Joe, meanwhile, has grabbed Tom's shoulder and stands, tense, behind him. Schofield gets the sense, in the many, many echoes Joe's feelings are weighted with, that this is not the first time Joe has felt this Defensive/Protective over Tom -- Schofield revises his definition of "being brothers" as apparently indicating a Mutual Relationship of Obligatory Care that spans _Extreme_ lengths of time (even if it still does not appear to come with a pact of mutual Non-Aggression) -- and is startled when Ben grasps Schofield's sleeve and pulls him in closer, too. The four of them make a tight huddle in the now-deserted Cafeteria.

"None of us goes anywhere or stays anywhere alone," Ben says firmly, looking at them each. Schofield wonders how a Look can have So Much Weight when Ben Looks At Him Directly, Into his eyes. "Agreed?"

"Agreed," Joe says, grim. He is determined and confident.

"Agreed," Tom says, mouth downturned and still feeling frightened.

"Agreed," Schofield says, last. It will make things more complicated, but it would be worse to dissent. (--and they're so _worried,_ even about _him--)_

The three of them are subdued after this show. Schofield finds he is subdued as well, the Previous Good Mood from Dinner being entirely Dissipated. When they have all Gone to their Bunks, he lies in His Bunk in the Darkened Room and pulls out the little bottle of Tablets that will Let Him Sleep Without Terrible Images. He is grateful the Host permitted him This Tool for This Assignment -- he thinks that he Does Not Want to See Cyan in the Reactor while he Sleeps, Tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MASSIVE kisses to @TheLoneLamp, @yrelec, and @yonderlight; thank you for leaving your thoughts <3 MUCH LOVE TO @MAGICALTEAR AND @WRITEYOUROWNSTORY AND SARA, to whom this story is dedicated! LOVE ALWAYS & FOREVER <3 <3 <3


	4. Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is growing a lot faster than I expected? ^.^;; Chapter count is updated and so are the tags!

The tablets do not work anymore.

Schofield finds this out when he gasps awake in the middle of the Sleep period. His Heart is Loud, almost Painful, and he Feels It in his throat. Images of Walking Into The Reactor and Cutting Down Ben and Joe and Tom to Bleed Out Over The Floor, his Senses of them Fading to Nothing, are as Vivid as his Memories of Cyan. He still feels the Shock of Resistance from the Blade Cutting Through Their Bodies in his Human Hands. 

His Stomach Flips Unpleasantly. He has enough presence of mind to Aim for the Floor instead of his Bunk.

"Tom?" he hears Joe say blearily. Schofield can't reply; he feels This Body Heave some more, as uncontrollably as at Dinner, but Without any Benefits. "Tom, what's -- oh."

"Nnnno," Tom mumbles. "Go 'way."

Dismayed, and bizarrely Disappointed, Schofield grips the edge of his Bunk and Stares at the Mess on the floor. It is Mostly Liquid; his body appears to have Already Processed Dinner. There is a Burning Sensation in his Nose and Everything Smells Odd. He knew Human bodies could react this way, but most shapes do not Do This and Schofield has never experienced it before.

The Mattress on the Bunk shifts with the Addition of More Weight. A Hand settles on the back of Schofield's Neck.  **_concern/sympathy/Comfort_ ** and, faintly,  _ protect/help _ rolls through him, a Flush of Warmth that makes Schofield feel like if he were standing up, his knees would give out. 

"What's all this, then?" Joe says. He says it quietly, but the Tone is full of Gentle Cheer. As Schofield blinks, Joe removes his hand and Lays the Back of it against Schofield's forehead.

"Sorry," Schofield says, At A Loss.  **_amused/sympathy/compassion_ ** is the response he gets to that, and he shivers. There is an odd pressure behind his Face.

"No temperature," Joe mutters, almost to himself. "Hang on, let me get the light." 

He flicks the little Bunk light switch and squints at the sudden Illumination of the space. Schofield feels his eyes shut tight. Going from the dark to such brightness is Hard on his Human eyes even though he sees perfectly well with or without it.

"Right, come here," Joe says, still calm, motioning for him to sit up. The Images seem to become Less Overwhelming as Joe makes Schofield open his eyes and Looks at them, then gently presses the sides of Schofield's throat and, lastly, peers into his open mouth.

"Well, you aren't sick," Joe says at the end of it. His hand is still on Schofield's neck and he feels like  **_sympathy/Comfort/concern_ ** _ /sad/soothe. _ "What's wrong, Scho?"

Schofield gropes for the Human word for sleep Images. He doesn't know it. "Scared," he says finally, because That was How It Had Felt, Unable to Stop Swinging. He shakes his head though, and closes his eyes, because it Feels Like A Lot and it is All At Once and he Doesn't Know What Is Happening.

He Is Not Supposed To Have Images Like This. The Tablets Are Supposed To Stop Them. They are Attuned to Impostor neurochemistry and are Designed To Work No Matter What Shape One Takes. If He is going to Have This Problem for this Whole Month, He does Not know how he will get Through it--

"Hey, hey," Joe says, emoting  _ alarm _ that is followed by  _ empathy. _ Schofield shakes his head, unable to respond any further, and is startled when Joe wraps his arms around Schofield entirely, enfolding him in a Hug. "It's all right, Scho. It'll be all right."

Tentatively, Schofield reciprocates the gesture, unsure of the purpose. Joe is very solid and strong, though, and there is something comforting about this sort of hold. Schofield is not sure why, but his Body seems to know that he should Relax, and Put his Head on Joe's shoulder, and then It shakes for a while. Joe rubs circles between Schofield's shoulders and makes soft noises while this happens.

"On a ship where this happened before, eh?" Joe asks when it stops. He is still quiet. Schofield is suddenly acutely aware that Tom's Snoring has ceased entirely and even Ben's heavier Sleep-Breathing is silent.

Schofield wants to flinch but controls it as best he can. His Body is responding slowly and without precision. "Is it that obvious?" he says, hoping to get away with not adding details.

Joe makes a low noise that does not seem to indicate agreement or otherwise. Schofield sighs. "Yes," he replies, hesitantly, and opts to lie. "This is . . . the second time."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Joe asks him. He does not feel like curiosity -- more like courtesy, and patience.

"No," Schofield says, so firmly that Joe snorts. 

The Human squeezes his shoulders again and lets go, finally. "I can sit up with you if your nightmares are that bad," he offers, and casually wipes at Schofield's Face, "but first let me clean up this mess. You won't want to wake up and step in it in the morning."

Bemused, Schofield touches the spot beneath his eye and finds some sort of wetness there. Was he doing the Human reaction where water leaks out? He will need to rehydrate. 

Joe has grabbed Ben's towel -- Ben appreciates walking between the Shower Block and the Bunks in nothing but it -- and tossed it on top of the mess. He is busily wiping the mess on the floor. "I-- no, let me--" Schofield objects, but Joe flaps a hand at Schofield to stay and has it clean before Schofield can finish finding words.

"Don't worry, I've had loads of practice," Joe says very dryly, nodding at Tom. "Two years ago we were in a crew where everyone caught the flu; it was me and one other who were helping everyone else out. You would not believe the amount of sick I've had to wipe up."

True to his word, Joe sits up with Schofield. After Schofield rehydrates to Joe's satisfaction, Schofield finds he has nothing to say and no energy to Make Anything Up; so Joe produces the mobile media device he and Tom play with and shows Schofield a game on it that involves exploring a small, digitized world. 

As Joe directs the little Player to explore a Forest, Searching for Treasure, Schofield tiredly Sorts through his circumstances. He Has Done Assignments with the Sleep Im-- Nightmares; the word is Nightmare -- and No Tablets before. He Can Do It Again. This is an Additional Challenge, that is all.

(It will not be pleasant.)

Even these thoughts cannot preoccupy him for long. Despite such unpleasant discoveries, Schofield finds himself nodding off against Joe's shoulder. In no time at all, Joe is putting away the mobile device and easing Schofield back to lying on his Bunk. 

Humans, Schofield muses when Joe creeps back to his bunk, are peculiarly self-sacrificing for such a weak Species. It is the last thing he remembers from that night; he is asleep before Joe's bunk stops rustling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eheheheheh, this is really getting a life of its own! Love love LOVE your comments you guys, I'm going to go reply to them all now -- so while I'm doing that, here! Have this!
> 
> Also, what is the color you play as most often? Any other Red players in the house?


	5. the Bug

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <:
> 
> basically I'm posting this and then going to go play more Among Us lol

It is the start of a very nasty week. To begin, the whole ship is on high alert for the next several days and it makes it difficult to be discreet. Purple, Green, and Yellow stick together exclusively and never interact with anyone else, except as a group. Orange harangues Pink and Lauri, dragging them around everywhere; he watches the members of Third Shift and First Shift mistrustfully and frequently enters and subsequently ends any conversations Pink or Lauri have with anyone else, shepherding them away like He, Personally, is their Guard. Lauri and Schofield find no way to trade any information in person besides brief greetings -- still, in snatched moments one evening when Second Shift works in the Cafeteria, they manage to coordinate the implementation of a Bug.

It is a nasty Bug. Lauri was selected for this Assignment due to her expertise with Alien Technology; she proves The Host's Wisdom when she devises a little program compressed into a tiny node, made invisible by the thinnest slip of strip adhesive, which Nestles into the Reactor's Activation Column and waits for the least opportune times to go off. Not four hours after they set this plan in motion, the third day after Cyan's death, the Reactor becomes unstable and remains in a state of fluctuation that is sufficient to set it off four out of the next six days. Each time, Ben and Yellow and Pink gather around it and work frantically. As the three Crewmembers with the Greatest Expertise in Reactor Management, they are the best-qualified to troubleshoot and jury-rig a solution: solutions that seem to fall apart only hours later. 

Coping with the new demand is difficult. Ben is dealing with the greatest stress at this time, called as he is to often go and attempt to fix the Reactor -- It catches First Shift in the middle of their night Twice. Even when the Reactor isn't in the process of melting down, though, Ben and Pink and Yellow can be found inspecting and tweaking and generally desperately working to diagnose the problem. 

"It makes no sense," Schofield overhears him saying very quietly to Joe one evening. Ben has not even made it to his bunk, which is above Yellow's -- he has just sort of . . . slumped into Joe's. "Lydia and I can't make heads or tails of it. None of the standard overrides work, none of the non-standard overrides or workarounds do anything, and not even Claire can access the back door. It's like we're working with a completely different machine." 

"It's Impostor work, no doubt about it, then," Joe says grimly back; and then Tom comes towards them and they hastily change the subject.

When Ben is _not_ in the reactor, he is still responsible for working during First Shift, but by mutual agreement Joe and Tom and Schofield spend most of those times encouraging Ben to find somewhere he can stretch out for a nap. The mingled irritation and relief he emanates makes something in Schofield Ache.

The burden of the additional work falls on Tom and Joe and Schofield as a result. Their work is not as frenetic as that first half-shift, but it is still greater than it was before, and after several days the pace is telling. 

For Schofield, this is compounded such that he almost regrets coordinating with Lauri to engineer this situation. Disquieted by his experience the night after Cyan's death, Schofield has not dared Sleep most rest periods. (It is not as though he doesn't _try_ \-- it is that the very next night, he wakes up just as horribly, though more quietly, and avoids waking any of the others. He cleans up his own mess and lies awake in bed the rest of the night.) He does not want to be subjected to the uncontrollable Reactions the Nightmares apparently now provoke. As an Impostor, he is not limited to Human limits of endurance -- he can eat more to offset the lack of Rest, for example -- but these conditions, impacting the collective crew as they do, are such that even his limits are tested. 

Tom and Joe get more rest than either Ben or Schofield, but the situation is still trying. Tom, unaccustomed to the additional burden and still young for a Human, droops a lot, and whines sometimes, and overall loses his usual good Cheer. He and Joe bicker more frequently and neither of them find it a release as they normally do. 

Even Joe's patience snaps more than once. "For God's sake Tom, how many times do I have to correct your shoddy wirework?" Joe shouts at his brother as the first nasty week stretches into a second, worse week. "Can't you ever do it right? I shouldn't have let you sodding get your work license--"

Tom, pale with shock, turns crimson with Humiliation. Schofield can tell that being there, being an audience to this, makes it worse for Tom. That is probably why he replies so acridly with, "Well, is it my fault it's so terribly _boring?_ You can have it all if you like, it sure as hell suits you--" and then they are off, shouting at each other. _What right does Tom have to take that tone with Joe?_ and _What right does Joe have to shout at Tom, anyway?_ almost bring the two of them to blows before Schofield finds himself in between them both, a hand in each of their suits.

 _"I'll_ check his wires," he says firmly to Joe. Joe knows very well that Tom's strengths are more suited to less delicate technical matters, and this criticism is not productive in the slightest. Joe blinks, arrested mid-shout, and then it is his turn to flush: first with shame, then with chagrin. He closes his mouth and nods and looks away with embarrassment. 

To Tom, Schofield adds, "And apologise for that." Tom normally feels nothing but affection for his brother; he has told Schofield twice already that Joe had only ever done right by him since their Mum died. The fact that Joe has the patience for the finer points of their repair work can only be an asset. Tom, remembering this now, sets his mouth mulishly, but he nods, resentment under control for the moment.

They both feel like absolute misery after another minute, and even mutual, muttered apologies soothe nothing. 

Dinner that night is a very quiet affair. Schofield is left alone with Frightening thoughts. He oughtn't have gotten involved -- his Purpose Is To Observe Human Behavior. His actions today were Unethical. Watching Tom pick at his meal with his utensil, eerily quiet, while Joe shoots him anxious looks, Schofield realises now that he is falling into the Dangerous Territory about which The Host Warn Impostors: it is called Empathizing. It Is the First Step Towards Failure and Schofield Is Not Here To Fail. 

Failure is Not Tolerated. Failure means Termination.

\--But it sits Inside Him and Gnaws, like space vermin. It Hurts, Seeing Tom's Good Temper wear Away into Sullenness; it Hurts, Sensing Joe's Horrified Regret when he Snaps At His Brother or Schofield; it Hurts, Observing how the Lines in Ben's Features Deepen and Shadows Appear Under His Eyes. They have come to Mean Something to Schofield and that means his Culpability for this state of affairs, partial or otherwise, Grates -- worse, almost, than the thought of Failing.

By the tenth day after Cyan's death, or their nineteenth on the ship, every member of First Shift are Tired and Unhappy. Ben has fallen asleep twice at the Cafeteria table during breakfast. Joe and Tom have largely repaired their Relationship, but they are Still Irritable In General and are Silent at the Table. 

Schofield is debating Bringing Up The Possibility that they Take Turns pairing off to Let Ben Sleep in the Bunks when there is a Shout. He blinks. Joe sits up Straighter and Tom looks around. A moment later, they hear "It's Pink! The Impostor killed Pink!" crackle over the loudspeakers, followed by the Emergency Alert as the Reactor goes Off for the second time in eight Hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (In for a penny, in for a pound -- eh? This is my . . . third update? in 28 hours?) NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP AT 18:30 PST (it's almost 21:00 PST at the time of posting) ILU ALL
> 
> \--I'm loving all the purple players, by the way! Purple & Orange are complementary colors, tooooo~ Real talk: what has your BEST game been?


	6. Sussed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #yolo

Ben is on his feet and running for the Reactor before the First Noise Blast finishes. He has No Thought In Him besides mindless Determination. Schofield sprints after him, worried about him on his Own in this State, and Joe and Tom pound after them both.

Inside, there is No One. Hurriedly, Ben barks out instructions to the three of them -- Tom and Schofield to stand at the Scanners, the Usual Emergency Shutdown Method, and has Joe crack open the Manifolds terminal to clear the Routines. Ben practically tears the Activation Column apart, quickly checking through the various failsafes; nothing changes. The countdown ticks lower and lower. 

Ben is swearing. He is desperate. Tom and Joe are starting to Panic and Schofield is, too -- nobody is wearing their helmet, running from breakfast like that -- not that it would matter, the suits aren't a protection against an explosion -- but they weren't planning on ending anything so quickly, he and Lauri _agreed--_

The Scanner turns a cool, reassuring blue. The alarm Cuts Off Mid-Blast. 

Ben makes a noise that sounds wrenched out of him. His Determination ceases abruptly and gives way to Exhausted Despair. He sits on the floor and leans against the Activation Column with his face turned away from them and shakes -- shakes like Schofield did when he woke up from the nightmare. 

Schofield does not even think about it -- he just goes. "Hey," he says, finding himself putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. "It's all right, it stopped. We're safe."

Ben jerks out of his grasp and bends away. "I can't do this," he says, voice muffled. He scrubs his hands over his face and repeats "I can't fucking do this" and then just sits there. 

"Whose voice was on the loudspeaker?" Tom asks, subdued, as Schofield kneels on the floor and awkwardly Hugs Ben. This time, Ben gives no sign that he notices, and he does not react when Joe comes over and squeezes his shoulder, either.

Joe grimaces and Looks at Schofield. He seems to be asking if Schofield is comfortable where he is. Schofield is not, exactly -- he is not sure he is doing this the right way -- but Joe offers no correction and just Nods at Whatever he sees. Out loud, he says, "We'll go find out -- Scho, stay with Ben," and so Schofield takes that as a directive to stay where he is. He remembers how it felt when Joe helped him After His Nightmare and tries to keep his hold around Ben's shoulders Firm, but not Too Tight, as their footsteps fade down the corridor. 

It is another long moment before Ben moves, finally. He shivers oddly, first. Then, he wipes his face and sits up a little straighter and, after a shaky breath, says, "Well, now's as good a time as any to kill me. Might as well get on with it."

Schofield blinks. He blinks again. "I beg your pardon?"

When Ben Laughs, there is no Amusement in it. It is just Tired. "Come off it," he says, voice bitter. He shrugs out of Schofield's hold Again to turn and Look him in the Eye. "You went missing when we got off shift, when Cyan was murdered. I didn't remember it at first, but I've had a lot of time to think, running around with these alerts." 

"What?" Schofield does not know what to say. He scrambles for something to say. "I--"

"You said you had an errand to do when we went to the showers and left us," Ben adds, harshly. "I was there when you came into the bunks from the shower block, _well_ after we were finished." 

Schofield finds he can speak Normally. He is not sure How. "What are you talking about? I left some tools in Storage. I could've sworn I'd told you."

"I don't remember what you said," Ben says flatly. "If your absence isn't enough--"

"--I left my cutters and that soldering iron behind," Schofield interrupts, emphasizing. --Maybe over-emphasizing; he stops and reins in his voice, turning it Soft the way Joe does when he is trying to Soothe. "Look, I think you need some sleep, Ben. Let's talk with Tom and Joe -- I bet they'll be willing to pair off and we can spell you in the bunks while you get proper rest."

"What about you?" Ben asks, equally Soft and much less friendly. There is Hurt in Him that is -- Ugly. He Stares at Schofield. "You haven't slept since that night you woke up and puked."

Where is this _coming_ from? Where did Schofield go wrong? No, no, no; this is bad. "I don't know what you're talking about," Schofield manages to say. He doesn't want this--

"--Because you said it yourself," Ben retorts, voice Hard. "You've been on a ship _where this happened before."_

Schofield stares at him, stunned into Speechlessness. He grapples for A Defense. Somehow, he doesn't think explaining that it was not a ship with a Human crew would be convincing.

Ben does not wait for It. "You haven't slept since then. You've been eating twice as much and catnapping to compensate. _Humans can't do that,"_ he continues, Relentless. "And now? This whole last week? You've kept calmer than the rest of us, despite how we're on a knife's edge, _this_ close to dying at any moment--"

"No!" Schofield snaps back. Something Breaks; he Feels a Flush of anger and hurt and a whole Mass of Other Things that are Making Him Feel Too Small To Contain. "I'm not going to kill you! I'm not an Impostor!"

"That's what Impostors do," Ben says Savagely, leaning in close. He Speaks Quickly but he Feels Afraid -- Wild. Schofield is Having a Hard Time Breathing. "They sneak into the crew and they work in the shadows to make us disappear. Or they kill us outright and pin the blame on someone else. Or they _sabotage_ and kill us _all."_

"That's not me!" Schofield shouts at him. "That's not -- I don't want that!"

"You are going to kill me," Ben says to him quietly, without any Doubt. There is only Certainty. What is Schofield doing wrong, why isn't he able to persuade him? "And Joe. And Tom."

Schofield tries to say something and finds it impossible. He has nothing to say to that -- not in the Face of Ben's Exhaustion, the Toll This Assignment Is Taking on Him. 

It is the Truth. 

"I don't want that," Schofield repeats -- Admits -- finally. The Words are Sharp in his Throat and he is Crying again; he Feels his eyes Leaking. Why?? "I don't. I don't want that."

Ben does not believe him. He sits there and Studies Schofield, as though that will Tell Him Something. Schofield hasn't any words, that's for sure. So they sit there in silence. Schofield does not dare stop Looking at Ben even though he Wants to Drop his Eyes. He Wants to Hide. He Wants Ben to Believe him. (--Because He will Have to Fight if Ben Accuses Him and He does not Want to Fight Ben--)

Steps echo, coming down the corridor and into the room.

"Scho, Ben -- meeting in the Cafeteria," Tom says from the doorway.

"Where's Joe?" Ben asks, Looking away at last.

"In the Cafeteria," Tom replies instantly. "He's waiting for us--"

Ben gets up with a Very Angry Noise and Stalks to the door. "We don't go anywhere without him," he snaps at Tom, and shoves him down the corridor. "Come on."

Tom is very confused, startled enough that he doesn't think to push back. "But Scho--"

_"Come on."_

Their footsteps fade into silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Okay, this time the next chapter isn't already finished yet so I will WAIT like I PROMISED~~ so yeah, it'll be up tomorrow!
> 
> notes: chapter count updated AGAIN -- I think this is it, this is . . . I think that is it.


	7. EMERGENCY MEETING #2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _time for that good ol' Emergency Meeting_

Schofield sits where he is for another moment, desperately trying to figure out what to do. However he realised it, Ben knows -- knows and confronted Schofield about it. Schofield could not convince him otherwise. And he will doubtlessly tell Tom and Joe--

The thought of feeling Tom and Joe's Mistrust, that same Ugly Hurt that Ben Felt--

His body Shakes and a Noise emerges from him Without His Permission. He hates this Human Crying. It is horribly inconvenient.

\--Well, one thing is for Certain. 

He gets Up. He Pokes through the Disassembled Activation Column. The Wire was Green; he finds it and his Sharper Eyesight picks out the Seam of the adhesive strip. He takes off one of his Gloves and, using the keratin shield of his Thumb, delicately peels it Back. In the center of the strip is the Bug. 

Schofield sets it on the floor and smashes it with his Sword. He knows this is Wrong but he Doesn't Care -- he is Tired of Being Responsible for Their stress. This will Buy Them a Day or so of Rest if he is voted Out.

When he comes into the Cafeteria, he sees he is the last one to arrive. Orange is at the head of the table and Grim. Yellow stands between Purple and Green, Purple with one arm over her shoulders. Lauri stands a little ways apart from everyone with her arms around herself, looking at the floor. 

Tom and Joe and Ben stand where they did Last Time. Ben feels like a solar storm looks, a Tangle of Emotions that makes Schofield's head hurt. He Avoids it. Tom, however, only looks and feels confused, Sharpening to Concern when he sees Schofield. He does not Hate Schofield, Yet. 

(Schofield feels something like Hope when he first realises Tom and Joe do not know and immediately smothers it. Even if Ben hasn't told them, He Will, soon.) 

Tom comes over. "What's wrong?" he demands when he is close enough to not be shouting. "Scho, what happened?"

"Nothing," Schofield says, surmising that his Face is a Mess from the Crying. His Suit is not absorbent, but he Wipes his Eyes with it anyway and Rearranges his Features to Something more Neutral. "Just frustrated by the Reactor is all."

"In your own time," Orange says acidly, interrupting them.

Tom scowls at Orange and then turns back to Schofield. He does not look convinced. He shoots a glance at Ben, who is Ignoring them Both, and then looks back at Schofield, clearly Doubting this story. But he pulls Schofield after him and stands between Schofield and Joe, who stands next to Ben.

After the briefest hesitation, Schofield mirrors Purple's posture and puts his arm over Tom's shoulders. Schofield Doesn't Know Why Lauri decided to kill Pink, but Schofield expects Ben will Reveal what he knows during the meeting and the others will Blame Him For It Anyway. He might as well Enjoy this while he can. Tom frowns at him with Real Worry, now, but reciprocates. 

(It feels Nice. He will Miss This.)

"For those who are not aware," Orange says, cutting through the moment, "Pink has been murdered. It was sometime last night, during Third Shift. Her body was hidden behind some crates in storage."

Looking around the Circle, Schofield sees he is not the only one who is Upset. Yellow's face is Twisted with Sadness and her Eyes are Very Wet. She is not Comforted by the Arm that Purple has over her shoulders and feels like Horror and Sick So Palpably that Schofield has to focus on someone else, hurriedly. 

Lauri's Expression catches his attention next. She is Glaring at him. As he watches, she swallows, and looks angry, and looks -- sad? Is she . . . Crying?

"She was alive when we left her," Yellow says, drawing his attention back to her. She speaks quickly, words fast and frantic. "Ben and I -- we were all walking back from the reactor to the bunks -- she said she had to check something, and we just . . . we just kept _walking--"_ She starts to Cry in earnest and does not say anything else. 

"So Black and Yellow were the last two who saw her alive," Orange says with Particular Emphasis that makes the Humans Shuffle and look at Ben (who looks tired and angry) and Yellow (who is so very upset). Schofield does not Like it -- he can sense Green and Orange both viewing Ben more negatively in Comparison. 

"Fuck you, Orange," Ben retorts. He waves to the corridor from which Schofield entered. "We've been working ourselves to the _bone_ trying to keep that reactor from melting down!"

The mood of the Humans is Not Pleasant and Getting Darker. It gets darker still when Lauri wipes her Face and demands, "Have you? Have you really? Because it's still going off all the time -- how much repair work are you _actually_ doing?"

Schofield looks at Lauri in surprise. She is glaring at him again. Does she -- there is no way she would know about the reactor Bug already, is there?

"After a whole week, there has been awfully little progress, Black," Orange says, eyes narrowing. Schofield Senses Orange's Suspicions settling more firmly on Ben. _No._ "And now one of your colleagues is dead."

Tom's arm squeezes around Schofield; his unhappiness is very, very clear. Joe is starting to remember how to use his words -- he is thinking, fast.

"What? Wait a minute--" Ben starts, Surprise evident.

Lauri continues to stare at Schofield as she cuts Ben off and adds, "Claire said something about Black was off."

"That isn't possible," Joe bursts out with, fighting to keep his tone even as his alarm escalates. "Ben has been with me or Tom or Scho every day. For God's sake, he even slept on the floor while we did our work during our shift!"

"You weren't with him at the reactor," Lauri says instantly. _No, no, no, no--_ "He was alone with Claire and Yellow, then."

"He never did anything!" Yellow says, horrified. She shakes her head at Lauri, dismayed. "He did his work! He didn't leave me to go back and--"

"That you _saw--"_ Orange begins, sounding lofty.

"No, wait," Schofield says into the middle of this. Tom and Lauri look at him, but Orange isn't paying attention and Purple and Green aren't listening. "I said, wait!"

He has got everyone's attention, now. Purple is watching him, eyes glittering in the overhead lights.

"It can't be Black," Schofield says forcefully into the moment of quiet. "He has been working just as hard as Yellow and Pink to fix the reactor and he has been with Joe and Tom and me when he wasn't. He's not an Impostor."

"One person's corroboration--" Orange starts, the weight of his Dislike being Redirected to Schofield now.

"What _I_ find interesting is how _you_ were the one throwing accusations at the last meeting when we had no proof," Schofield interrupts him rudely. He is not sure why Lauri is trying to blame Ben when she Already Set _This_ Avenue Up. (He can feel Tom and Joe's shock as he continues -- he ignores it.) "And here you are again. What about you, Orange? Pink and Cyan were members of _your_ shift. _You_ had access to them all the time!"

"No one knew where _you_ were, Orange, before Cyan's death," Yellow says. She is glaring at Orange, now, smarting from how he Discounted her statement. "And you were pushing Claire around all the time, even though she was working so hard to fix things with the reactor!"

"Wasn't it Lime who said he was suspicious in the first place?" Green asks, taking Yellow's side. "I think it's Orange. He's trying to stir things up to cover his tracks."

"Wait -- no, that's not it--" Orange tries. His Righteousness has been replaced with Fear, sharp and sudden. 

"I call a vote," Yellow spits. She is Crying again. "I vote Orange. He killed Claire! He killed Cyan!"

"I vote Orange," Schofield says immediately after her. He Does Not Want Ben to Die and this is the best way to Ensure That. "I know it isn't Black. It's got to be Orange."

"It's Black!" Orange shouts, frantic. "Look at how he's turned this around -- if you want to talk about covering his tracks--"

"He didn't say anything except to say he's been working like mad!" Joe snaps. Schofield senses him abruptly come to a decision. "It _is_ you, isn't it?"

"I vote Orange," Green adds, uncertain still but willing to take a risk for Yellow. Schofield feels as though a weight is off his shoulders. Ben is safe -- there is no way that Joe and Tom would vote for Ben.

"I vote Black!" Lauri counters, voice rising.

Schofield -- senses it, more than sees it: how, seemingly despite himself, Ben flicks a look at Schofield. Schofield knows what this means.

"I vote that we skip," Ben says. He feels, clearly; he feels like _exhaustion_ and _hurt_ and _don't care._

There is a pause that mutely demands an explanation. The Humans are startled. 

"I vote that we skip the vote," Ben repeats slowly, and continues. "As much of an ass Orange is, I'm not completely convinced it's him."

"He killed Claire!" Yellow shouts at him. "You remember how much she hated the way he bossed her around -- who does that?"

"I don't want an innocent man's blood on my hands," Ben says to her, flatly. "He's an idiot and a shoddy manager, but I don't think that makes him the Impostor."

"Who else could it be?" Yellow demands.

Schofield swallows; this is it. He nods a little and closes his eyes. He does Not want to see Tom's Face, or Joe's. He does not want to feel Tom shrink away from him, either, but Schofield also does not want to let go, yet. Space is very cold.

"I don't know," Ben says. Schofield freezes. "I just don't think it is Orange."

When he opens his eyes again, Ben isn't looking at him. Ben is looking Yellow In The Eye, Steady.

The moment passes. Joe and Tom look at Ben and each other. Numbly, Schofield notes that Ben's words seem to dissipate Joe's temper, though he is still very Upset. "I skip too," Joe says eventually. He glares at Orange. "But I'm going to be watching you."

"I'll vote skip," Tom says, doubtfully. "For now, anyway."

Purple shakes her head. "I say better safe than sorry," she says. "I vote Orange."

(Schofield feels a bit like he is floating. It is the oddest sensation; he does not know how to explain it. It is like the world around him is all just a touch farther away at the moment.)

"But it's not me!" Orange bursts out even as there is a strange release of tension, from the other Humans. "It isn't, I'm not the Impostor!"

"Are we going to have to force you into the airlock or are you going to go out with dignity?" Purple asks, voice hard.

Orange sputters. Schofield feels the Human's sudden sorrow, sharp and blinding, dragging Schofield out of his strange floating state; and then Orange takes a deep breath and Forces his Expression into something less Frightened.

"Fine," he says to her. To the rest of them, he says, "I was only ever trying to do my job. Good luck."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, guys! It just gets worse from here c: Next chapter will be up tomorrow~
> 
> Note for going forward: I decided to play with chapter titles. You know me, usually I do something generic like [insert dates] or [insert season of the year], but then I realised how easy it was to title chapters after the fact and went a little overboard. --which is to say, there will be titles for the chapters in the future!
> 
> As for Among Us, what is your favorite map? I know all the tasks and the map on the Skeld so well it feels like a second home, but I'm starting to try playing more Polus, too . . . though the snow makes it really hard to see the cursor when I'm on PC.


	8. Two Impostors (Benefits)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags added: Implied Indoctrination, Dehumanization. 
> 
> (Orange is Erinmore, by the way!) (Cyan wasn't based on anyone in particular, but all the others are female OCs from _between the crosses,_ if you're interested c:)

They all escort Orange to the airlock in silence. Tom is Deeply horrified when the business is over; in comparison, Joe and Ben both feel like sickened resignation. They have faced this before. Green and Yellow are comforting each other. Lauri looks on, still leaking Tears.

"Well," Purple says to Ben briskly, breaking the silence. "First Shift, cough up. Second Shift can't have only one member, and you've got four."

This snaps Tom out of his own thoughts quickly. "What? No," he protests. "Just let us do more of the work--"

"Schofield will do it," Ben interrupts him with. He nods to Schofield, expressionless. "Joe and I would prefer to keep working together."

Schofield feels his shoulders sag. So Ben has not revealed him -- not yet -- and in the meantime, Schofield is no longer Welcome. (For a moment, it feels like he has no air in him.) Very well.

"Well _I_ wouldn't," Tom snaps, up in arms. Joe is frowning at Ben; he is starting to realise there is something wrong. _"I_ want--"

"I'll do it," Schofield says, interrupting Tom a second time. He squeezes Tom's shoulder and manages to Make a Smile. "Can't leave Lauri to work alone, now, can I?"

"But--" Tom cuts himself off, pressing his mouth flat. 

Schofield gets the sense that Tom is struggling with a great many feelings all at once and Empathises. He Hugs Tom. "Come on, we're still going to be on the same ship," he offers, and then lets go as though The Gesture is only Casual. He nods to Lauri and says, "I'd be happy to work with you."

"Then it's settled," Purple says, Clapping her hands together. 

"We've got our shift to start," Ben says, indicating Tom and Joe. "If you'll excuse us?"

Purple nods and waves him away. Schofield watches them turn and leave, Tom more reluctantly so than Joe: Joe only looks back once. 

Schofield pays attention again when Purple addresses Lauri. "Can you get him up to speed on your shift's tasks?"

"Yes," Lauri says to her quietly. To Schofield, she says, "We have a little time before our next shift; are you free now?"

"Of course," Schofield says. 

Lauri inputs the first standard breakfast program code to the Replicator for both of them. It is the perfectly serviceable hot cereal that Tom and Joe called porridge. 

"We have the standard work tasks," Lauri says, pulling out the list and passing it over to him. Schofield sees that it is nearly identical to First Shift's work, but hers notes several tasks in the MedBay. First Shift rarely went in there except for the mandatory weekly health scans. 

Schofield Processes his hot cereal mechanically. He has already had a first meal, and he is not particularly hungry, but the more he eats the less tired he will feel. 

"Now that we are on the same shift, we must exercise caution," she says, still eerily neutral. Her Tears have dried up; now that they are not in the company of Humans, her expression is blank in a way to which Schofield finds he is no longer accustomed. "I am already marked out as the last survivor of my Shift. Others might expect that I would be targeted next."

Schofield shifts in his seat. "I do not think we should eliminate anyone so soon."

Her mouth twitches downward and her eyes flash with some emotion that Schofield cannot place. Then it is gone. "No," she agrees, expression neutral, voice calm. "Moreover, I believe we should remove the Bug for a period of some days. Reducing tension levels would be conducive to Assignment longevity."

Schofield nods. He finds his appetite is gone entirely; his porridge is not even half-Processed. "I can remove the Bug," he says instead of forcing himself to consume more. It is fortunate he has this opportunity to conceal his actions from earlier.

"All right."

There is silence for several minutes. Lauri eats neatly, if slowly. 

"Would you like to get some rest before the shift?" Schofield asks courteously. Normally, he recalls, she would not wake for another hour or so.

She declines. "It is not necessary," she says. She scrapes the last of the porridge out of the container and returns her tray to the appropriate Receptacle. 

As they clean up their meal, Schofield reflects that day that He should take this as an Opportunity. He has already begun Empathising. If he Restrains himself and does not perform any Further behavior that does not Benefit the Host, he will likely reduce the Amount of Inculcation he will certainly have to undergo when he Returns to the Host. 

Working with Lauri will remind him what it Means to Be An Impostor. An Impostor is the Precursor of The Host; he is A Blade Dipped in Paralytic, Slipped in Smoothly, Exsanguinating Without Suspicion. He is Not a Human Person; he is a Weapon. Technically, he does not even have a Name. Schofield is the name of This Role; It Is Not His. He Exists for the Benefit of the Host and Only to Benefit the Host. 

Schofield does his best to Remind himself of This as the Next Several Days pass. 

Working with Lauri is different. Lauri is quiet. She is not filled with stories as Tom is, or advice as Joe is, or interesting tidbits like Ben. She treats him with Polite Neutrality. She is being Professional; he has to Remind himself the Lack of feeling in his chest is Appropriate. Schofield wonders how she Does It and thinks that she is a Good Impostor, a better one than He Is. He should Aspire to her level.

One challenge is the Shift Work. Lauri does not know how to do most of the tasks at all and Stares at him when he inquires as to which she would prefer to take on. It is a mark of her Ability that she has spent half of their Assignment arousing no suspicions even from members of her Own Shift. She shrugs when Schofield mentions this and Changes the Subject.

Just as there are, naturally, new challenges with this change in Routine, Schofield finds that there are unexpected Benefits. He sees much Less of Tom and Joe and Ben now; his Shift ends After they have started their Sleep Cycle and his Day begins while they are Working. On the Infrequent occasions where they meet in the Corridors, Ben Regards him with a Distance that is Numbing. Joe and Tom still Greet him, but Joe does so with More Caution and a Suspicion that informs Schofield that Ben has imparted him with some knowledge. Tom treats Schofield Much the same, but that means Little when Ben's Silence and Joe's Reservation overshadow their meetings.

This is Fine. This is a Benefit. It is Easier to Be An Impostor if he is not Pretending to be Human too often. (He reminds himself that the Lack of feeling in his chest Is Appropriate.)

Without the Distractions of ~~Ben and Joe and Tom~~ Black and Red and White, Schofield finds himself Operating with a more Suitable Emotional Detachment. Plans are Easier to make. He is no longer Swayed from hour to hour by his fellow Crewmates' Moods. Without the custom subroutines, his sustenance is Plain and not an Event that Takes Up his Attention when it could be Better Utilised; and anyway, he continues to lack an Appetite. 

Schofield embraces these familiar Differences and reminds himself they are Benefits. He almost Lost Sight of his Purpose. 

\--It is true that he spends Most of his rest Cycle fighting the Human reaction to Cry, a strain that seems to occur with frequency disproportionate to the Day's Events. He hears similar sounds from Lauri's Bunk as well, but she is on the other side of the block and she does not react well when he asks her over Breakfast. He presumes it is Not Appropriate to Inquire. In any case, Schofield Excuses himself from Failing to overcome This Reaction on the grounds that he is not using the time for True Rest, Anyway, and hopes Lauri feels Less Affected, Soon. 

(He Reminds Himself that the Lack of Feeling In His Chest Is Appropriate.) 

"I believe the Crew are settled again," Lauri says to him the morning of the Sixth such Day over their breakfast of standard hot cereal. "They have regained enough complacency in their routines that it will be less expected."

The Sustenance was Already Tasteless, but it seems Particularly So, suddenly. Still, she is Correct. "An elimination?" Schofield asks with implicit agreement of her assessment. His tone is Appropriately neutral.

"Yes. I think it is a suitable time to 'stress test' the social group with a double elimination."

"Very well," says Schofield, and fights not to Eject Breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AS YOU MAY HAVE GUESSED, THIS FIC IS RAMPING UP 👀 Tune in tomorrow to find out what happens next! Who will live? Who will die? Who will spot the flying saucer in the sky? --that last is rhetorical, they are IN the flying saucer. 
> 
> Among Us question of this update: honestly, do you prefer to be a Crewmate or an Impostor? Like I hate being the sole Impostor, but my best Impostor games are always when my partner gets yeeted immediately or disconnects . . . but the minigames are so FUN (when it's not effing downloads) . . .


	9. Double Elimination (Backstab)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all's comments are just making my day c: Thank you!

The key to completing the double elimination is precision. Timing is crucial. For the purposes of balancing the longevity of the Assignment and Introducing Additional Stressors, ideally the elimination would be of one member from First Shift and one member from Third Shift. Eliminating two members of either shift and framing a third as is Standard Tactics would leave them with fewer Humans to Observe and is therefore ruled out as an option. 

This is exceedingly tricky to plan, however. Since the elimination of Cyan, the members of First Shift and the members of Third Shift have been close to each other. First Shift does not go Anywhere without all Three of them, and Third Shift behaves similarly. That rules out the possibility of luring both into the same place at the same time and killing them then; though Lauri briefly suggested the idea of reinstalling the Bug, which would surely bring Black and Yellow to it at All Hours, Schofield pointed out that it would take at least a week for them to become so tired they would be sloppy enough to go without backup, and that idea was rejected. 

Instead, they decide to take the more viable option of eliminating targets separately, but during the same time period. That requires finding one crewmember who is separated from the rest of their shift as well as stealthily eliminating one crewmember who is in the middle of a work shift without his or her Shiftmates noticing. 

This is how Schofield finds himself slipping out of bed two hours into First Shift's work cycle on the 26th full day of being on the Skeld. Lauri remains in her bunk -- she will stay there until after Schofield's target, Green, leaves to utilise the Waste Facilities. 

Green does this every night within the same 45-minute window of time. Black and Red considered her a Cheerful Human and seemed to regard her with particular interest, and it is True that Green always seemed to have some sort of amusing story or clever joke to share, particularly after the soporifics she chooses to drink with her dinner. Schofield always felt there was something a little unhappy in her, but that only seemed to spur her to further heights with her Merriment. 

He wonders how she will feel as she dies. (He dreads finding out.)

Schofield waits for her in the shadows. There is a niche that is not well-lit just beyond the door of the Waste Facilities; this is where he fits himself. His Body in this Shape is tall and pale but the Blue of his Suit is Dark and he is wearing All of it to lower his chance of being noticed.

His chest feels tight. His hands feel chilled. This Body is sweating and it is cold even under the Suit. It makes Schofield angry. He should have better control but he does Not and He Does Not Even Know _Why,_ anymore. He knows this is the Least Pleasant Part of Assignments because it is _Always_ the Least Pleasant Part. Still, ~~Cyan's Death~~ one Particularly Unpleasant Experience does not mean This One will be Unpleasant. This is His Assignment; It Has To Be Done. 

\--It could be worse, he Reminds himself. Lauri offered to Let Him Take the Other Target -- one of the Members of First Shift, for Whomever the Opportunity presented itself -- but Schofield declined. He did Not want it. He Does Not Want It. Even after a week of Remembering his Purpose he cannot bring himself to Want it. He thinks of White's (Tom's) instant, easy affection, open and Welcoming; he thinks of Red's (Joe's) gentle, thoughtful compassion, sure and Warm; he thinks of Black's (Ben's) wickedly sharp humor, perceptive and Honest; and Schofield thinks he does not want to be the One who kills any of them. He Does Not want to feel Their Sadness or Their Fear or The Betrayal when they see It Is Him, or see how They Fight The Failure of Their Own Bodies, and Scrabble at the Floor, and Try Desperately to Cling to Life even as it Drains From Them--

"Blue?"

Schofield startles Very badly. He has to catch himself on the Wall to Keep from Falling Over.

It is Green. She has stopped and is looking Down at him. She is very confused and more than a little Concerned.

\--Down?

He is . . . he is crouching on the floor. 

He should be standing. He should be standing, but he is not. --and He is _Fucking Crying._ Again! 

Furious, Schofield pulls his helmet off and throws it at the wall. Green jumps at the movement, unnerved. 

"I hate crying," he snarls at her. "Why do Humans cry so _fucking much?!"_

Green looks from the helmet -- the shatterproof plastic faceplate cracked, tumbling around on the floor -- to him. She isn't wearing her helmet so he sees easily when her skin turns the color of Ash. But she looks at him and, for some reason, she isn't alarmed; she frowns, much like Tom did -- does -- _did_ whenever Schofield did Something Worrying. 

Schofield cannot help but put his head in his Hands. He Laughs, horribly, and spends some time Shaking, mindlessly. 

There is pressure on his shoulder. "Shh," Green is saying. She is kneeling next to him, still cautious, but it is her hand squeezing on his shoulder and it is her Concern and Empathy he senses and it is both of these things that makes him want to Lean In and Feel Someone curl an Arm around his Shoulders. 

"Hang on there, Schofield," she says. "It will be all right. What's wrong, love?"

She is Kind -- he can feel her Kindness -- but she is not whom he Cares about. She has left the Bunks and that means that Lauri is about to leave if she has not left already.

Schofield scrubs at his eyes and tries to clear his airways. "A lot," he says. He gets up and pulls his Sword out from its sheath. "But no time. Sorry. Be careful, all right?"

"Schofield?" Green says. Her tone conveys her alarm. "Is -- is that a _sword--"_

"No time," he repeats, already moving down the corridor. "I have to go, I'm sorry!" 

His mouth is dry -- he is scared. Schofield does not Understand So Many Things. His Body Does Things Without Permission and he Feels A Lot Of Emotions He Does Not Know. He doesn't know what he is doing anymore, or why, or how it has all become such a Mess. He does not know why he did not kill Green. He does not know Why He Cares.

But he _does_ care. He cares so much. He feels like he Wants to Die and he Hasn't Even Been Injured, or Damaged, or Otherwise Rendered Inoperable. There is nothing wrong with him but Tom and Joe and Ben are in danger and he can't even say he will kill Tom last because he doesn't want them dead, any of them. Schofield wants them to live, and tell funny stories, and trade delicious subroutines, and offer advice, and-- and--

\--and he smacks right into Tom, coming out of Electrical. 

"Oof," Tom grunts, winded, grabbing onto Schofield's sleeve to steady himself. Schofield feels much the same way and shakes his head, impatient at the delay. It doesn't help.

"Where is everyone?" he wheezes. He looks past Tom and sees Joe blinking at him with surprise, just behind Tom, and past Joe is Ben, standing at the back of the room in front of the Calibrations panel. Hearing them, he is turning to look and see what the noise is.

Schofield isn't sure what prompts him -- some noise, a draft, instinct -- but he dives for Ben. He shoves out of Tom's hold, slips past Joe, and puts himself between Ben and the corner with the vent in it, knowing this is precisely the sort of distraction that counts as an Opportunity. 

Lauri was not issued a Sword; she has a Knife. He suspected as much -- she does not have the Mass with which to properly wield one. Still, she is strong, and he grunts at the impact. She was aiming for the tender Human kidneys. It is fortunate that Schofield is taller than Ben, because he suspects that the pain of that would have rendered him temporarily incapacitated even with all his Training.

She stares at him. It is obvious that she is absolutely shocked.

"No," says Schofield. Distantly, he notes his tone is one that could only be considered Angry. "Not them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--TBC, obviously :P I aim to have the next chapter posted tomorrow at around this time but it might be a bit later; I don't have much of it written, yet. (I have it all planned, I just need to write it down!) 
> 
> Ummmm. I had an Among Us question, but I can't remember it right now . . . I guess, if you could suggest something to the developers, what would you suggest? I'd love a zen mode where you could play sessions with a couple friends and no Impostors, just tasks . . . yeah, okay, I just want to do research for future fic set on Polus ~~where it is v cold and they must all cuddle for warmth, yessssss~~ without having to snail my way through freeplay.


	10. Body in Electrical

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _"Tune in next week to 'Is Someone Dead in Electrical?'!"_ \-- CallMeKevin
> 
> (--no, not really, you find out now!) (Yeeting this here and running off to answer comments for last chapter~)

"You're jeopardizing the Assignment," Lauri says. Her hand, slack from shock, tightens on the hilt.

"Yes," Schofield replies, loose -- easy. He is floating again. --Adrenaline response? Whatever, it's helping him now. He feels like he is Ready.

Behind him, he is aware that Ben has flattened himself against the wall and is edging around the bank of circuit breakers controlling the ship's Lighting Grid. He is urging Joe and Tom to get out into the corridor. 

Lauri pulls the knife Out Of Him (he feels the tug on the surrounding Mass -- poor show on her part, she ought to have honed it properly) and holds it at the ready. "For _them,"_ Lauri continues. She is -- Angry, like he is; _confused_ and Angry, as though she does not believe him. Beneath her faceplate, he sees her expression shifting to something that is absolutely furious. 

Schofield takes a step back and raises his sword. He expects that he will have to terminate her. "Yes."

It is not as quick as it should be. Schofield finds that he is slowed by the physical Damage. This was not one of the situations that were Simulated in training prior to deployment and he has to Improvise. His head feels light and Warmth -- Mass, in the form of Human blood -- is flowing Freely down his front, faster than he can possibly replace it. Too, his Sword is meant for more distance; it is not Suitable in such close quarters. 

It is not quick, but it is not slow, either. She feints several times, keeping in close, preventing him from Bringing his sword to Bear. She manages to stab him again. This time she aims better, but she still has not quite got the trick of it -- or maybe he moves just enough out of the way -- and the blade strikes bone. It catches there and _throbs._ She loses her grip and ducks back, automatically; and then she nearly recovers as he is busy staggering back, but then he has finally got the reach. He slices her in two, using both hands to pull His Blade through the Spine.

Time skips oddly. He is certain he Sees her fall, watches it, even, but he does not retain it. He has to lean on the Sword and press a hand to his own Damage. "I'm sorry," he says to her, and Means It. He has to catch his Breath.

"But why?" she asks, sounding lost. She keeps talking while he tries to breathe but none of the words register. He can take a moment; she can't go anywhere, now. Impostors are Hardy, but she Cannot Regrow her Legs, not so Fast. --Reminded of it, he kicks her Lower Half out of range. 

Schofield leans against the wall after that. He feels very Tired. Blood loss, if he had to Guess. He ought to End This and let her -- and himself -- Rest.

This is not going to be any more pleasant than eliminating Humans. He grits his Teeth and holds his breath, abdominal muscles Screaming as he steps forward and Lifts the Sword so that he can Plunge it Down for the Terminating Strike. "Why what?" Schofield asks her, holding it there; she has asked a question and he will Give her an answer if he Can. 

She is Crying again, he sees when he looks Down at her. "Why do you get to keep yours, though?" she asks, distress genuine. "Why did you kill Pink?"

He Does Not Understand the question. "Why did I kill Pink?" Schofield repeats. The words do not make any sense to him. "I-- it wasn't me, it was you."

"But you were doing me a favor," she insists, bewildered. Her expression is a plea, asking for a Last Answer, but he -- does he _have_ the right answer? "I was . . . she was Kind. To Me. I didn't want to Eliminate her. I wanted--" she Sobs, and her consciousness is draining out-- "I wanted her to die last. It was the least I could do."

"No," Schofield says, feeling numb. This is Bad. "No, no, no, no."

Detached, he notices the sword dropping from his hand. Schofield kicked her legs away, somewhere -- he spots them now in the corner and reaches for them. Maybe she will be able to Rejoin without too much Loss. 

"Scho?" Tom asks, uncertainly. He is hidden behind Joe and Ben, who are watching in Utter Shock. 

"I didn't kill Pink," Schofield repeats, mind stuck on That. He is reaching. The legs are both closer and further -- he is on the floor. He blinks and finds he has curled around his side, still reaching. "Her legs -- she'll need them--"

Skip. Schofield gasps back Awake on the floor, Shocky with Fight fever. Tom has put Pressure on top of Schofield's hand, the one he was Holding to the Damage. Schofield Feels It Exquisitely. "Stay with me," Tom says, **_frightened/horror/nonono_ _._** Schofield wants to Cry at the weight of It. "C'mon Scho, stay with me--"

Schofield looks Past Tom's Earnest Terror and sees Joe looming above him and Ben standing next to him. Joe is more Focused on Schofield; Ben is Looking At Lauri. 

"Tom," Schofield manages to say. He is losing his train of thought and he needs to Not. He needs to Keep Conscious. "Tom, let go."

"You'll bleed out," Joe says sharply over Tom's protest. Despite his tone, he is gentle as he lifts Schofield's head and pushes Something Under it. "Relax; you're making it worse--"

Schofield has had to Reshape before in worse circumstances. Still, this is Not going to be one he Remembers as Being Optimal.

He _Pulls._ He is Himself and Malleable. He reaches for His Mass and Finds that it Moves as he Needs It To, Most of It; Some has been Irretrievably Lost Already. More is Expended In the Effort. He prioritises Organ, Muscle, and Bone Repair. 

Everything Sears for a Moment. The Fire is Worst Under The Pressure as He Tries To Reshape More Wholly; the Duress Complicates Things but It Is Manageable. He Sees Brilliance.

He Blinks. He blinks again.

The first thing he is Aware of is that the others are profoundly Disturbed. As Schofield's vision clears, he sees Tom raise his hands and Recoil. Joe sucks in a Breath. But Schofield does not Hurt anymore, at least. 

He still Wobbles as he sits up: It Takes A Lot Of Effort To Reshape, even if just to Repair Damage. Despite how clearly Tom feels Discomfort, he helps Schofield up anyway. Joe touches his shoulder, deeply Distressed.

Lauri's eyes are closed. She has Lost consciousness; she probably appears to Human eyes as Dead. It is the Hibernal state Induced by Shock -- Loss of Mass is an easy way to Affect an Impostor. She will Have to Reshape when she wakes up. Unconscious, she will Not automatically Recall her Lost Mass and it will Remain Lost; she will not have the Mass to regrow her lower half when she wakes, and without it, her Human shape is no longer suitable for Survival. 

This means that Schofield will have to Do This Alone. --Unfortunate.

"There is a problem," he says to Tom and Joe and Ben, all of Whom are crouched around him, now. Schofield works to get to his feet and is stopped by Three Pairs of hands.

"What are you, insane?" Ben demands, more upset by Schofield trying to get up than Schofield would have expected. "You've been hurt -- there's no way you're all right!"

"I think there is a third Impostor," Schofield tells him, and takes a deep breath. "I killed Cyan--" there's Tom's Horror; it hurts exactly as much as Schofield had thought it would. It drowns out Joe's Disappointment and Ben's unhappy Relief. "--but I didn't kill Pink."

Tom has let go of him. Schofield does his best to ignore this. He continues briskly with, "Lauri didn't either. She thought I'd done it. So there's another one of us."

Ben looks at Lauri. "You're sure she didn't kill Claire?" he asks, Doubting it, personally. Schofield understands why. He thinks for a moment on what to say.

Joe beats him to it. "I heard what she said," he says to Ben, sounding Sad. "It sounded real enough to me. --And if you think about it, wasn't Pink always sort of shepherding her along?"

Ben rubs his chin. "Claire was talking about how sweet Lime was," he says slowly. "In some downtime, when we were taking breaks from trouble-shooting the Reactor. And Lime came and helped when she wasn't on her Shift, sometimes." He shrugs, a little helplessly, very Unsure. "It's why I didn't think she was suspicious at all when Claire was found. It looked like real grief to me."

Schofield nods. "I think she felt -- what I felt, about you," he says. His voice is rough and it is Hard to use. "I didn't want you to die. I hoped I could persuade her to kill you last. But after Cyan . . ."

He looks at the Floor. He knows to Humans it is Murder. Murdering Last is little better than murdering First.

Joe squeezes his shoulder after a moment. Schofield tries Very Hard not to Read Into It, but the gesture Promises -- as does Tom's Indescribable noise, which sounds like Amusement and Dismay. He feels less Horrified as he leans in and gently bumps Schofield with his shoulder.

Ben clears his throat. Instead of commenting on that, he gets right to the heart of the matter. "So if it's someone else, who is it?" he asks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Yes, I've totally accidentally worked out a whole bunch of Impostor Lore, and yes, it will be coming up in the next few chapters. 
> 
> 2\. Next chapter will probably come out Saturday, I think? I'm posting this now and I'm going to TRY for tomorrow, but honestly, I have a ton of grading I need to get finished too u.u BUT I SHALL TRY . . .
> 
> 3\. HUGE LOVE TO ALL OF YOU, ESPECIALLY @YRELEC AND @THELONELAMP!


	11. Debrief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags updated to include: anxiety/panic attacks.

"Well . . . you knew Lime was an Impostor," Tom says slowly to Schofield. "So is there a way to tell who the third Impostor is?"

Schofield blinks. "I knew she was one because I was told about her," he replies, bewildered. 

"Yeah, but like, you're aliens," Tom says, waving past this. "Aren't there any differences between you and humans?"

"Besides the shapeshifting?" Ben says, dry. His amusement is sharply Familiar. Schofield feels himself smile; he missed sensing that. 

Speaking of -- "I can feel you?" Schofield offers, tentatively. "Your emotions, I mean. I've never felt another Impostor's emotions."

They are staring at him again.

"You can--" Tom starts, voice rising with Surprise.

"D'you mean like--" Joe says at the same time, fumbling for words.

"Okay," Ben says, cutting both of them off with a look. "Like empathy? We'll set that topic aside to ask you about later. Is there anyone on the ship whom you don't or haven't felt?"

"I know it isn't any of you," Schofield replies, relaxing again. Ben is very good at redirecting everyone. Tom and Joe are both still Bursting with curiosity, but it is diverted and easier to ignore as a result. "I don't know the others well enough to say."

This spawns a New conversation with the three Humans conferring about their remaining crewmates. Schofield does his best to follow it all, but Exhaustion is starting to catch up with him. He is Tired -- very, very Tired. The adrenaline has faded and he either needs Rest or he needs Sustenance; he used up most of the Energy Reserve tissues of this Body trying to repair it. As a result, he is flagging. 

He forces himself to focus on the situation at hand anyway. He finds that instead of reflecting on whom the identity of the Third Impostor is, he thinks about what the Third Impostor's presence means. There is only One Reason why the Host would send a Third Impostor, an Operative Unknown to him and Lauri: as a failsafe. This Impostor must be an Evaluator, a Safeguard which also Observes and Reports Agent Effectiveness. To the best of his knowledge, he has never been sent on an Assignment with an Evaluator. Why has The Host sent one this time? 

\--And then he feels himself freeze. What is the Evaluator going to do to _him?_ If they get him spaced . . . 

An odd chill has settled in him; he is Breathing fast. Possible symptoms of Shock. Schofield struggles to process this -- this overwhelming -- he can't name these Emotions, not when they are all mixed together like this --

"Breathe," someone is saying to him. Schofield tries but it is slippery. He is caught up in the thought of being spaced and being Retrieved and What The Host Will Ask Of Him when he is Retrieved -- What They Will Make Him Do -- 

**_BEAT. beat._ ** The Rhythm interrupts his thoughts and makes him aware of other things. Warmth is on the back of his neck. **_BEAT_ ** (inflate, breathe) -- **_beat_ ** (relax, exhale). Breathe in; breathe out. 

Schofield reaches out and finds Someone and holds on to them. He can feel them Breathe In and Breathe Out and he Finds This Body Follows That Pattern. 

He blinks back into awareness and finds he is on the floor, still, in the dim back of Electrical. He smells the Sharp iron tang of Human blood. One of his arms is around Joe's middle, the other fisting its hand in the Front of Tom's suit, and it is Ben's Palm that is on the back of Schofield's neck. 

"All right there, Scho," Ben says, on his other side. His voice is strangely soft. "Are you back with us?"

"I don't want to go back," Schofield says starkly. His throat is closing up on him. He swallows, but it doesn't seem to help. "I don't want to go back."

"Go back where?" Tom asks. Schofield can feel his _worry_ from here.

"Terminate me," Schofield says instead of answering. This is the most Important thing. "If the Third Impostor makes me go back -- if I am voted Out -- Terminate me, first."

He is unprepared for how the three of them cycle through varying iterations of _astonishment/ **realisation** /Rejection/OUTRAGE. _ It very nearly causes him to lose the Rhythm. 

Ben is the one who gets it Under Control the fastest, pushing it all down under **_anger_** that is heavy and calculating. "All right," he says, though he is just saying it; he does not feel like commitment so much as Determination. Still, Schofield finds that he is able to follow Ben's example and press this unnameable mix he feels into something manageable -- even though he now feels more exhausted than ever. 

"We're not going to do that," Tom informs Schofield as Schofield Breathes and Resettles himself. "You're not going to walk through that airlock."

Joe doesn't say anything at all. He is deeply upset and rubs at his face, expression tight.

Schofield shakes his head, Fighting sleep. He is not denying Tom's words, precisely, so much as unable to accept them just yet. "The others will know I'm one very soon," he informs them. "Green saw me in the corridor with my Sword; she knows. She'll tell the others."

"With your sword out? But why--" Tom realises what he is saying and closes his mouth with a snap. 

Schofield thinks it is best if he does not say anything. He shakes his head again and Changes the subject. "I need to move," he says to them instead, feeling how badly this Body wants to Lie Down. "Get up and move, anyway. I'm falling asleep."

"If you need to sleep, you need to sleep," Joe replies. He has tamped down his Feelings and is aiming to be practical. He puts his hand back on Schofield's shoulder and squeezes to Emphasize his words. "We don't know who the Impostor is, yet, anyway."

"And if they haven't called for a meeting by this point, there's a good chance she's waiting for the end of their sleep period," Ben points out. "Schofield, you look like death warmed over. Take a bloody nap."

Schofield is still not convinced, but Tiredness is dragging at him again. He rubs his eyes. "Nightmares," he says, rough. "Can't sleep." 

He watches as Ben and Joe and Tom all trade Looks with each other. Each of them possesses a distinct feeling of Uncertainty that, upon assessing each other, shifts to Assurance and Conviction. How are Humans not psychic, again?

"Don't worry about that," Joe says. "Come on, lie down. I'll wake you if you have any, and we'll cover for you for the rest of the shift, eh?"

This Body has decided to take Joe's suggestion to heart and is letting Joe guide him to lay flat. Schofield's head is resting on something Soft and Joe's hand is on his forehead. He feels like **_comfort/concern/tired_ ** and it is Very Compelling. 

\--But he is forgetting. He fights Somnolence a moment longer. "Don't push Lauri out of the airlock," Schofield says, blinking his eyes Open. He is not sure how successful he is -- it all just looks dark. He manages to add, slurring, "Wake me up when she does."

"When she _wakes up?"_ someone repeats, astonished, but Schofield no longer cares; not when he is drifting off into a darkness that is Not As Cold as space is with the way his head is in Joe's lap like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I had to rewrite this one a LOT -- there's a lot to cover . . . I honestly started and stopped this conversation about five times and wound up patchworking the drafts of each attempt into this!
> 
> I thought this was going to be the last chapter. It . . . is not! I have set the next chapter being the last chapter, but honestly, I don't know! We'll just have to see. I'm going to aim to get it out tomorrow but more likely will have it out by Monday -- I still haven't done, like, any of my grading . . . ^-^;;
> 
> What is the wackiest Among Us story you've got?


	12. Reckoning

When Schofield wakes up, it is some time later. He comes back to awareness with an underthought of restlessness, the sense of needing to Move; and when his eyes adjust to the dimness of the room, he finds his head is now in Tom's lap.

Tom is not looking at him. He is watching someone and frowning, anxiety creasing the corners of his eyes. Schofield is struck with the thought that being so Close is a privilege, seeing this moment: he has seen Tom in a lot of circumstances by now, but not when Tom actually knew what Schofield was. (And here Tom is, still, anyway--)

Schofield must make some noise or some other such sign, because Tom's attention is diverted to him. "Awake, are you?" he asks, frown crooking Upwards as he looks at Schofield. "I was starting to wonder if you'd sleep the day away!"

"Why?" Schofield asks. He rubs his eyes -- they Feel Grainy -- and sits up. He is Rested. The ache in his Stomach tells him he needs Sustenance. "Your shift was only another three hours or so . . ."

"It's well into Second Shift, now," Ben answers as Schofield is compelled to stretch, feeling the muscles and tendons of This Shape pull pleasantly. Ben and Joe are sitting shoulder to shoulder, backs against the circuit banks; all four of them are hidden from view to the casual passer-by in the corridor. "Green certainly hasn't called a meeting."

"We thought it best to give you as much rest as you apparently needed," Joe says, watching Schofield Critically; it is the same familiar concern/disapproval that Joe feels whenever Tom does something Exasperating. Schofield feels peculiar warmth flood through himself At The Comparison.

"He means we were scared to do anything without you," Tom grumbles, not quite low enough to go unheard.

Joe rolls his eyes. Ben shrugs. They both Feel like Pragmatism. 

"Lauri?" Schofield asks, looking to the corner.

He sees that someone has covered her body with a tarp -- both parts. She lies Still.

"She hasn't woken up," Joe says. His voice is steady, reassuring, but he feels tentative.

Schofield nods. The Revival period is any time within the next -- he supposes the Human equivalent would be a week . . . It was a possibility and not a guarantee that she would wake so early.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," he offers. He is Uncertain about the proper Platitudes.

"Don't be," Joe says immediately. "Anyone could see you needed it."

Ben is the one who feels most strongly about it, though; Schofield feels the Appraisal. Ben is the one who leans in and Peers at him closely, his eyes sharp and his touch light; Schofield is coaxed into tipping his head, first one way, then the other.

"Looking better," Ben allows judiciously.

Tom is restless again. "Do we get to do this now?" he asks. "Scho's awake, let's go find that Impostor."

"We don't know who it is, either," Joe says to Schofield. He gestures to Ben and explains. "Neither of us have worked with Green or Purple or Yellow before this job."

"I don't _think_ it's Lydia," Ben ventures. "We both went to the bunks and Pink did stay behind. Lydia was with me for at least half an hour. But on the other hand, it was her shift -- I don't know if she stayed. I fell asleep."

Schofield nods and thinks for a minute. He has been automatically navigating the emotions of fellow crewmates for so long it is hard to separate instances where he sensed a specific crewmate's emotions -- not First Shift, but for the others. Still . . .

"Green is safe," he says with certainty. Her Compassion had been genuine, and she was the only one present at that time. "She is Human."

As though his words were a signal, the alarms go off. It is almost instinctive, how Schofield scrambles up, looking to the door. It is absolutely instinct that sends Ben sprinting for the door, unthinkingly heading straight for the Reactor with such an awful wave of Dread that Schofield staggers. 

Joe manages to catch him at the door and hauls him around. "It's not the klaxon, it's the sirens! Something's gone wrong with the O2 system. We've got to go the other way."

Sedentary species refer to it as reaping what is sown, Schofield remembers inanely as Tom steadies him, alarmed at his Body's seeming instability. Impostors just called it cleaning what One Kills. --Either way, he thinks he has a lot to make up to Ben, seeing this visible consequence of the sabotage from earlier.

They sprint down the corridor. O2 has a dual override like the Reactor, but unlike the Reactor, the overrides are not in the same room. 

"Tom, Scho, take the override in Admin," Joe says as they skid through Storage. "Ben, follow me."

 _"Do not split up,"_ Ben shouts back at them as he and Joe head down the hallway that will let them cut through the Cafeteria.

Tom is the one who stumbles as they enter Administration. The lights are flashing and the siren is louder, which is why Schofield does not immediately grasp the situation: he does not hear Tom's exclamation. Rather, it is Tom's wave of _shock_ that catches his attention. 

Green is sprawled just behind the table, a neat hole Puncturing through her mask's faceplate. The still-spreading pool of blood makes it very Clear what happened to her.

"Fix the system first," Schofield rasps. Objectively speaking, he has just spent several hours Sleeping; subjectively, none of that seems to matter with the Weight resting on him now. He hauls Tom up and away, sensing Tom's sudden fear. 

"Right," Tom says, rattled. He fumbles at the control panel, curses, and then -- does something; his fear Flattens out entirely and is replaced with sheer Determination. Whatever he does, the siren in this room stops. The other one is still going.

Schofield looks at Tom and sees they are in agreement. They do not even need to speak. They leave Green lying there and make for the O2 chamber in a dead run.

Joe and Ben are not hurt. Schofield's relief is Tangible when he sees both of them, working frantically. Joe is fiddling with wires --they've been cut -- and is sweating, but his hands are Steady. He twists something together and says "Now -- try it now--" and Ben pounds at the keypad. The siren cuts out abruptly and the lights cease their strobing. 

"Are we all right?" Joe says, looking around. He spots Tom and Schofield. "We're all right."

"Bloody Impostor, ripping out those wires like that," Ben swears. "Will it hold?"

"This fix? For now," Joe tells him. "We'll need to fix them properly, though."

"Green's dead in Administration," Tom says, grim. He swallows hard.

Ben and Joe trade looks. "Well," Ben says after a moment. "Guess there's no point in calling a meeting, then. How much do you want to bet we'll find another body on the ship?"

"Don't be like that, the other one might still be all right," Tom protests.

Schofield does not want to contradict him. He feels Sad. Schofield does not know how he would have chosen otherwise, but he can't help but feel that if Green hadn't seen him, she would not have been eliminated so soon. 

"We had better do a sweep," Joe says, heavily, but they find Yellow with her head twisted all the way Around just inside Navigation and it seems rather pointless after that. 

Hunting for Purple is unproductive. They spend another hour combing through the ship. It is when they check the console in Administration that they find an Ejection has taken place; it occurred just after the O2 system's shutdown was overridden. 

"Purple spaced herself?" Joe says, disbelief Echoed by Ben and Tom. "But why?"

Schofield feels this Body shiver. It does not Like the Memories. "Retrieval," he answers, short.

"Retrieval? Retrieving what?"

"Us," Schofield says. He studies the floor rather than meet anyone's Eyes. Carefully, he avoids Looking at the mess. They moved Green to the Medbay because it was distressing for Everyone to have her lying there as they went through the data, but they did not have time to mop up the Blood. "If you want to kill us," he clarifies, slowly, "spacing us isn't the way to do it."

Joe is the first to figure it out in the silence that follows. "She's being retrieved?" he asks. 

Schofield nods. "By The Host," he says. "She is an Evaluator; they will want her Observations."

"But why not just leave?" Tom asks, bewildered. "She set off O2 -- we were in Electrical the whole time, why didn't she just leave while we were there?"

Schofield finds himself shrugging. "I don't--" he starts, before a terrible thought occurs to him. He turns and runs to Electrical.

They had not moved Lauri, yet. Schofield yanks the tarp off of her and finds--

\--just the Lower Half: her Lost Mass. Lauri is gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be ONE LAST CHAPTER. Just one (--for this work!) that wraps things up! I'm going to try to write it and post it tomorrow. And then ~~there will be cuddles :3c~~ I am going to work on finishing the next chapter of [fraternité](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26710627/chapters/65157082), but after that, I'll come back to this world, possibly?


	13. Epilogue(s)

Schofield keeps expecting something to happen, but it doesn't. He suspected that Purple took Lauri and spaced together, but of course there wasn't any proof they were both gone; still, when Purple does not reappear, Schofield concludes that she did, indeed, leave with Lauri. Even now they are likely being Retrieved.

(At least, he hopes they are, if they haven't been already. Reviving in Space is Highly Unpleasant. Troublesome as Purple was, Schofield does not Wish her the Experience, and the Thought of Lauri experiencing it Makes Him Hurt.

"Scho?" Tom asks, tentatively, breaking him out of his thoughts. Schofield finds he has almost Deformed the Tray, gripping it as tightly as he has.)

The four of them concentrate on completing Skeld's refurbishment. Finishing up the work on the Skeld is something that takes them the rest of the week and some of the next as well. The Company that Ordered the Repairs and Contracted the Humans was Unable to send Replacement crew on Short Notice. 

(Apparently, although Orange reported Cyan's death, further reports of Sabotage and Pink's death were Suppressed; they were caught Unprepared for such a situation.

"Really, they just don't want to send anyone when it seems we've already taken care of the situation," Ben tells them during the meal after that. He rolls his eyes. "As it is, they'll get the new crew out here in a week in a half.")

But the work is not Hard and it can be completed faster than the Humans estimated they would need. Schofield does not Have to Sleep. So, while none of the Humans are particularly happy about it, he eats Additional Meals to Offset the energy output and works during their rest cycle. He Has Learned A Lot. 

Additionally, Schofield finds it is Meaningful, somehow, to Solder the Wires he and Purple and Lauri cut in Sabotage, repairing them to satisfactory working condition. He roots out the shorts and faults that Cause the Reactor Keypad to "get fiddly." He Ensures the Administration and Navigation blocks are Sanitized and figures out how to fit in a few additional lights in the back of Electrical in such a way that they won't overload the circuits. He Feels like it is the Least He Can Do. 

"Right, Schofield," Ben asks him during one of their Shared Third Meals a few days before they are Due to be Replaced. "What are you planning on doing next?"

Schofield blinks. All three of the Humans are suddenly looking at him with Interest. "I think I know what happened to the scanner's software in the Medbay," Schofield answers, startled. "I was going to work on that, but I can work on something else if you've noticed anything." 

"What? No," Ben replies, bemused. "When MIRA comes out here with their new lot of researchers and we're packed up to be shipped out -- what were you planning on doing next?"

"Oh," Schofield says, Feeling His Stomach Drop even though it Isn't Actually Dropping. 

Truthfully, he has Avoided Thinking About This. Schofield doesn't know what he's going to Do. He Cannot Go Back To The Host, Unless He Wants To Give Up What He Knows, and he Does Not want The Host to know about Tom, or Joe, or Ben. The Psychics The Host Employ Would Tease It Out -- Everything He Knows About Them, Every Observation He Has Had. Although they would not be Ideal Targets, Precisely, Schofield finds the Prospect of The Host Having Such Close Knowledge of Them Terrifying -- more so than the Fact that Schofield will be Terminated for his Failure.

\--But of course, without Returning to The Host, Schofield hasn't anywhere to go. 

He looks at his Tray. It does not offer him an answer. "I don't know," he says finally.

"See? I _told_ you," Tom says to Joe and Ben, aggrieved. He looks at Schofield and his Eagerness is Obvious when he says, "You should come with us, then!"

Schofield doesn't know what to say to that. He looks at the Other Two Humans. Joe has covered his mouth and his shoulders are shaking; he feels Very Amused. Ben shrugs, but he is also Eager -- more quietly so than Tom, but still Eager.

"We've got a posting lined up as long-term Maintenance on Polus," Ben says, using his utensil to Indicate Tom and Joe and himself. "It wouldn't be too much trouble to bring you along."

Schofield swallows. "Oh," he says again. He tries clearing his throat, next. "I -- yeah, all right."

Tom claps him on the shoulder. He is Very Happy at this Answer. "Yes!" he says, excited. "Did you know Polus has a _ridiculous_ amount of snow? We can have _so many_ snowball fights!"

"No," Joe tells him. "No, we are not having snowball fights."

"But there's four of us! We can have proper teams!"

Ben grips Schofield's shoulder and squeezes. "Glad you're coming with us," he says quietly, under the noise of Tom and Joe bickering. 

Joe knocks his boot against one of Schofield's, under the table. Schofield looks and sees Joe smile at him, and go back to arguing with Tom.

Schofield thinks it is very warm, this feeling inside that makes his throat close. Despite the physical obstruction, he finds he is smiling as he goes back to finishing his meal. He feels much lighter at the prospects of more of this sensation; he rather likes it.

\--::o::--

"The Conclusion is as you suspected: the Human Shape is Dangerous," Purple reports. "The results of this Assignment were Mixed. One Impostor was nearly Lost To Us before Intervention on My Part. The other has Defected Entirely."

"Confirmation of our suspicions has never been more welcome," says The Host. "You have done well, Impostor. You may go."

Purple does not wet her lips, though she feels the urge to do so keenly. "Permission to Suggest?"

The Host regards her with Piqued Interest. "Granted."

"The Impostor Recovered would be an Excellent Candidate for Specialised Training," Purple states. "Her Experience First Hand would be . . . Valuable, for Inculcation."

The Host considers this in silence. Purple Does Not Falter.

"We shall see," says The Host, finally, and That is That.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand that's a wrap! The ABSOLUTE BIGGEST SHOUTOUT to @yrelec and @TheLoneLamp, whose sheer enthusiasm for each chapter has been an unexpected blessing. Thank you so much, you guys! I could not ask for more wonderful readers <3 <3 <3
> 
> Much love and many kisses to @writeyourownstory, @MagicalTear, SARA (@The_Beeses_Kneeses, now!), and @yonderlight! I love you all!
> 
> There will be more from this universe, for sure. Vague ideas have been bantered about an Actual Sequel -- but we'll see about that . . . for sure, there is CUDDLING AND FLUFF, AS FORETOLD! --Still, as mentioned last chapter, that's going to be after I finish a chapter for another fic, but I promise it won't be too long <3
> 
> P.S. -- If you want some Lore on Impostors, check out [the comments from last chapter](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/374291115)! There is a bit that I'll probably expand, but for now, you can enjoy a bit of what Schofield already knows.


End file.
